Organizers pleased with first “Walk with a Doc” event

Cairo’s Davis Park was crowded with walkers Friday morning for the first annual Walk with a Doc where two local physicians and other healthcare providers gathered to encourage Cairo and Grady County to move.
“It went really well,” says Dr. Meghann Blankenship, the event’s organizing physician from Cairo Internal Medicine Clinic along with Dr. Jason NeSmith.
After hearing an explanation of the walk’s purpose, nearly 50 folks clad in walking shoes, circled the park several times, then enjoyed free refreshments of granola, fruit, coffee and water.
Three lucky participants went home with door prizes, donated by Center Drugs, including an insulated cup, compass bracelet and cooling towel.
Dr. Blankenship says she enjoyed spending time with the walkers, both non-patients and patients alike. She says although walkers were encouraged to ask any health questions they had, and many did, she says the casual atmosphere also provided the opportunity to interact on a more personal basis. “I got to walk with a patient and hear about their family (instead of their health issue),” Blankenship says.
Also on hand were two nurses from Grady General Hospital who checked the blood pressure and conducted other screenings for walkers.
The next walk is scheduled for the third Friday of the month, July 18, at Davis Park beginning at 8 a.m.